Paris Guide^©
Mel & Judith Croner

 Museums

It is difficult to know where to start when one thinks of the subject of Paris museums.  Our four-day tour includes a number of the major museums like le Louvre and le Musée d'Orsay.  In this section we will recommend a few of our very favorites.

The Musée Carnavalet is the museum of Paris.  It covers the period from prehistory until the 18th century.  Typically, there are lots of special exhibitions.  Nestled within the Marais, the Musée Carnavalet chronicles the history of the capital from its origins to the present.  It is housed in two mansions built in the 11th and 17th centuries, with a gallery leading from one to the other. The Hôtel Carnavalet, after which the museum is named, was once the home of Madame de Sévigné, who wrote a series of famous letters to her daughter.  It now houses the museum’s collections from pre-historical times to the reign of Louis XVI, while the Hôtel Le Peletier Saint-Fargeau contains pieces dating from the French Revolution to the present day.  Explore Paris’s rich heritage through the museum’s fascinating displays. Just a short walk from the museum, the Place des Vosges, the capital’s first royal square enjoys a timeless charm and a leafy garden that’s ideal for relaxing after a spot of shopping under the arcades.

Address: 23, rue de Sévigné, 75003 Paris.  Téléphone: 01 44 59 58 58. Métro: Chemin Vert or Saint Paul; Bus: 29, 69, 76, 96.

The Musée Auguste Rodin is located on the Left Bank near Napoleon's tomb («les Invalides»), this museum is as much a park as a museum.  Once inside the walls of Rodin's former estate and «atelier», you are bombarded with the works of Rodin.  For those from the San Francisco Bay Area, there is a «Penseur» in the garden.  For the techies among you, study the series of casts at the top of the stairs on the second floor that demonstrate how bronze casts are made from plaster model.  Don't miss Rodin's incredible marble hands near the window in the séjour on the entry floor.  A long walk in the gardens to view such «oeuvres» as the Bergers of Calais, Balzac and the Three Muses are musts.

Address: 79, rue de Varenne, 75007 Paris.  Téléphone: 01 44 18 61 10.  Métro (line 13): Varenne or Invalides; R.E.R (line C): Invalides; Bus: 69, 82, 87, 92.

The Musée Jacquemart-André is a Haussmann era home of a couple who lived and prospered in during the Second Emperor reign of Napoleon III.  The museum contains a fabulous collection of painting, sculpture, and furniture that includes van Dyck, Rembrandt, Botticelli and many others as the owners lived with them.  We had the opportunity to attend a dinner in the museum served in the dining room.  Don't miss the staircase and the smoking room.

To see one of the finest collections of decorative arts, don't miss the Musée Nissim de Camondo.  Essentially in tact as lived in by the Camondo family, the museum was the home of Moïse Camondo, an incredibly successful Jewish financier who was called to Paris by the Baron Georges Haussmann to finance the rebuilding of Paris by Napoleon III.  The museum was named to honor Moïse's son, Nissim, who was killed in World War I.  Camondo's daughter, Beatrix, married a member of France's second most powerful Jewish family, the Reinachs.  She remained in Paris with her husband and family, riding in horse shows with her Jewish star on her riding habit.  She and her entire family were deported and murdered by the Nazis four days before the liberation of the Paris.  The end of the fabulous family.

The museum has one of the most impeccable collections of Louis XVI furniture.  The kitchen, built at the turn of the 19th century is amazing.  It includes a forced air furnace and an electric oven, grill and rotisserie. 

Address: 158, boulevard Haussmann, 75008 Paris. Téléphone: 01 45 62 11 59. RER: Charles de Gaulle - Etoile; Métro: Miromesnil or Saint Philippe du Roule; Bus: 22, 28, 43, 52, 54, 80, 83, 84, 93.

The Foundation Dina Vierny - Musée Maillol is a gem.  In 1995, Dina Vierny, French sculptor Aristide Maillol's last muse and model, opened the doors of the Maillol Museum in Paris. Housed in a complex of 18th-century buildings on the Rue de Grenelle, 7éme, the four-story, light-filled museum exhibits a full range of the artist's work as well as works by his contemporaries and friends, including Matisse, Bonnard and Gauguin.

Address: 61, rue de Grenelle, 75007 Paris.  Métro: Rue du Bac (ligne 12); Bus: 63, 68, 83, 84.  Téléphone: 01 42 22 59 58. Open: Every day except Tuesdays from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

It all started in 1934, when Vierny, then 15, received a letter from the renowned artist, then 73. "Mademoiselle, I am told that you resemble a Maillol or a Renoir," he wrote. "I will be happy if it's a Renoir." Thus began a ten-year collaboration, during which Vierny posed for and inspired such masterpieces as The Mountain, The River and Air. For years, Maillol, who began his career as a painter and tapestry maker, divided his time between his home and studio in Marly-le-Roi, just outside Paris, and Banyuls-sur-Mer, the beloved village of his birth. Vierny joined him in Banyuls in 1940, where she continued to pose for his sculpture, paintings and drawings. She has also opened a small museum in Banyuls and is restoring Maillol's house, which she plans to open to the public.

Do not miss the Centre Georges Pompidou - Musée national d'Art moderne.  Designed by Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers and Gianfranco Franchini, assisted by Ove Arup and Partners. The delegation to build the «Centre Beaubourg» was created at the end of 1971, and then a decree by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs gave it the official title: Public Establishment to Build the Centre Beaubourg.

The Centre Pompidou was born in February, 1977, through the will of the former French President, Georges Pompidou, who wanted to see a public center built in Paris to focus on all forms of modern and contemporary creation: sculpture, painting, books, cinema, video, performances, music, etc. Twenty years, and some 160 million visitors later, the Centre has undergone a two-year renovation to provide the public with a reorganized and fully modernized building on January 1, 2000.

Be sure to see the "view" restaurant by taking the escalator to the 4éme floor. The views of Paris on the way are spectacular.

Address: place Georges Pompidou, 75004 Paris.  Métro: Rambuteau, Hôtel de Ville Châtelet-Les-Halles; Bus: 21, 29, 38, 47, 58, 69, 70, 72, 74, 75, 76, 81, 85, 96.  Téléphone: 01 44 78 12 33.  Open 12:00 Noon to 10:00 PM, Monday, Wednesday - Friday; 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Saturday, Sunday and Holidays. Closed Tuesdays. Free Sundays from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM.

The Musée des Arts Asiatiques Guimet exhibits the widest overview of Asiatic arts in Western Europe. In a fully renovated open and luminous setting, discover collections of Indian, Japanese, Chinese and Indonesian masterpieces made thousands of years ago. Silk road treasures, Buddhas from Angkor, Japanese engravings, Indian silk, etc. There are major exhibitions, workshops, tales for children, films, concerts, theatre shows, turn this museum into a venue offering a fantastic opening up to Asiatic religions and civilizations. A few meters from the museum, the Buddhist Pantheon offers a peaceful and privileged break, with its Japanese garden and tea house between Trocadero and the Champs-Elysées.

Address: 6, place d'Iéna 19, avenue d'Iéna, 75116 Paris.  Métro: Iéna Trocadéro Boissière; RER: Pont de l'Alma; Bus: 22, 30, 32, 63, 82. Téléphone: 01 56 52 53 00; Fax: 01 56 52 53 54. Open daily, expect Mondays from 10:00 AM to 5:45 PM.

Built for the Universal Exhibition in 1900, the «Grand Palais Palais» ("Grand Palace") spans an area of 775,000 square feet in the form of an 'H'. Listed as a historic monument, it is recognizable from a long distances thanks to its glass roof which is the largest in Europe. It is located in the Paris' 8th arrondissement.

Although the Nave is emblematic of the Grand Palais Paris, the building is in fact a complex which also includes the «Palais d'Antin», home to the «Palais de la Découverte» science museum, and the «Galeries nationales».

The Palais de la Découverte, located in the building's west wing, was designed in 1937 initially as a temporary exhibition and for 70 years has fulfilled its initiatory role in the popularization of scientific knowledge. The Grand Palais was built at the same time as the Petit Palais and Pont Alexander III.

The Galeries nationales were developed in 1962. André Malraux, then the French Minister of State for Cultural Affairs, was looking for a venue for large temporary exhibitions of international stature. He decided to earmark part of the Grand Palais, subsequently to become the Galeries nationales, for this purpose. Programming is the responsibility of the Réunion des musées nationaux.

Address: 3, avenue du Général Eisenhower, Paris, 75008.  Métro: Champs-Elysées Clemenceau (lignes 1 et 13), Métro: Franklin-D. Roosevelt (Lines 1 et 9) Bus: 28, 32, 42, 72, 73, 80, 83, 93.  Téléphone: 01 44 13 17 17.  Open very day except Tuesdays from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM; Wednesdays from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM.

A new and very exciting museum is the Foundation Henri Cartier-Bresson.  Endowed by the renown photojournalist, Henri Cartier-Bresson, now in his 90's, this is a gem.  The entire Cartier-Bresson photo archive is housed and preserved in the basement.  

Address: 2 impasse Lebouis, 75014 Paris.  Métro: Line 13 - exit Gaité, «sortie» Vercingetorix; or Line 6, exit at Edgar Quinet or Bus Line 28 and 58, stop at Losserand-Maine or Line 88, stop at Jean-Zay - Maine. Téléphone: 01 56 80 27 00.  Open Wednesdays, 1-8:30 PM; Thursday - Saturday, 1-6:30 PM; Saturday, 11:00 AM - 6:45 PM.  Entrance fee is 4 €.

Another new entry to the pantheon of Paris museums is the Musée Baccarat.  The museum presents the highlights of the artistry and technical innovations of Baccarat.  The museum of Baccarat crystal recently moved to its new location in the 16th arrondisement.  The museum now resides in a lovely «hôtel particulier» not far from the Museum of Modern Art.  

Address: 11, Place des États-Unis - 75016 Paris.  Métro: Bossiére or Iéna. Open daily from 10:00 AM until 6:00 PM.  Closed Sunday and Monday and holidays.

Send your suggestions to: mel@croner.biz